A group of private companies, public interest firms, and labor unions have assembled to fight Comcast's pending Time Warner Cable merger.
The Stop Mega Comcast Coalition launched on Wednesday, claiming that the deal threatens competition and runs counter to antitrust laws.
"A competitive and diverse media and technology marketplace is fundamental to the health of our economy and our democracy," Gene Kimmelman, CEO of D.C.-based Public Knowledge, said in a statement of support.
According to Kimmelman, "Mega Comcast" would control half of the country's high-speed broadband wires, putting the cable company "on a path to virtual dominance" over the market.
"This much power concentrated in the hands of one company would be frightening even for the most trustworthy of companies," Kimmelman said. "And Comcast is definitely not that."
A merger, the group argued, would drastically undermine a number of key market segments. Aside from owning 50 percent of the high-speed broadband market, and potentially increasing prices, a combined Comcast-TWC would also be the nation's dominant pay TV provider.
Plus, Comcast's X1 Platform may become the default streaming service for a majority of broadband subscribers, leading to what the coalition warned would be fewer consumer options and less motivation for other companies to innovate.
"Put simply, Mega Comcast would be disastrous for consumers," Kimmelman said. "Already known for its terrible customer service, if allowed to go through with the merger, Mega Comcast would deliver increased consumer frustration and hamper technological innovation."
Comcast announced its $45.2 billion deal in February, revealing plans to acquire TWC's 11 million subscribers, while the companies combine their products. In an effort to get the deal approved, Comcast offered to divest customers to Charter.
Other coalition members include DISH Network, the Parents Television Council, the Writers Guild of America West, and NTCA (The Rural Broadband Association).
Comcast was unmoved. "There's no real news here," Sena Fitzmaurice, vice president of corporate communications at Comcast, wrote in a blog post. "While it's no surprise that the same competitors and special interest groups who've gone after Comcast in the past are at it again, the record tells a very different story."
According to Fitzmaurice, the Federal Communications Commission, over the past few months, has received nearly 600 "thoughtful and positive comments" from small businesses and tech companies about the transaction.
Yesterday, the FCC re-started the 180-day "shot clock" on the merger, which it suspended in October in order to give everyone more time to craft and review public comments. These shot clocks, however, are informal guidelines intended to help keep things on a reasonable schedule, and aren't binding.
For more, see 5 Reasons to Love and 5 Reasons to Hate the TWC, Comcast Deal.